308 Sierra tmk’s
- Thread starter Mikew344
- Start date
They are a target bullet
I have used the 77gr 223s .. work fine but as always it depends where the bullet lands..
8x57
Distinguished Member
Talking only of deer here but they shouldn't have really Mike, well not in Scotland or Northern Ireland at least, and depending how you interpret soft nose or hollow nosed with regard to the TMK in England and Wales. There being some who claim that the matchking and the tipped matchking is hollow nosed bullet with just a plastic nose inserted in the hollowpoint.
If you look at the Sierra website it says "MatchKing® and Tipped MatchKing® bullets are not recommended for most hunting applications."
.22 Cal / 5.56mm 77 Gr. TMK - Sierra Bullets
Sierra has enhanced a segment of the MatchKing line by adding the acetal resin tip, thus crowning the Tipped MatchKing (TMK) bullet line. The major advantage of adding a tip to the bullet is the reduction of drag, producing a more favorable ballistic coefficient. Another benefit is reliable...
www.sierrabullets.com
Sinistral
Well-Known Member
This is from the current Home Office Guidance on Prohibited Ammunition, now rather out of date.
There may have been some reason for the idle to use target bullets when 'expanding' were controlled and collect only with an FAC. As these can be posted now without any restriction there's no excuse to consider an alternative.... or for posts like these.
3.21 Category (xv) refers to ammunition incorporating a projectile that is designed or adapted to expand in a controlled manner. It is the kind of ammunition used in deerstalking and vermin control because it is more likely than non-expanding ammunition to ensure a quick and humane kill.
Semi-jacketed soft point and hollow point are typical forms of expanding ammunition, but care must be taken to distinguish between match target hollow point ammunition, which has a tiny hole at the front for manufacturing purposes, and true hollow point. Match hollow point rounds which are not designed to expand upon impact, such as the Sierra Match King and the Hornady A-Max, are not prohibited.
This is from the current Home Office Guidance on Prohibited Ammunition, now rather out of date.
There may have been some reason for the idle to use target bullets when 'expanding' were controlled and collect only with an FAC. As these can be posted now without any restriction there's no excuse to consider an alternative.... or for posts like these.
3.21 Category (xv) refers to ammunition incorporating a projectile that is designed or adapted to expand in a controlled manner. It is the kind of ammunition used in deerstalking and vermin control because it is more likely than non-expanding ammunition to ensure a quick and humane kill.
Semi-jacketed soft point and hollow point are typical forms of expanding ammunition, but care must be taken to distinguish between match target hollow point ammunition, which has a tiny hole at the front for manufacturing purposes, and true hollow point. Match hollow point rounds which are not designed to expand upon impact, such as the Sierra Match King and the Hornady A-Max, are not prohibited.
Not prohibited tells you what you need to know. Its not out of date until the HO update it... Perhaps you have 10-15 left from a batch...? What the manufacturers design and what they market are sometimes two different things. They want to sell you another box.
Amax expand in a devastating manner. Personal experience. Drops deer on the spot.
TMKs also expand. Im not aware of an open tip bullet (with or without a plastic nose) that doesnt expand.
If you want to nip the plastic bits out, youll get a reliably expanding bullet with the added bonus of needing less twist to stabilise.
Does it do the job on deer? Quickly and humanely? Yes.
Dont use FMJs.
Theres a fundamental lack of ignorance by many on the attributes of bullet design.
This is one of those topics that attracts lots of “knowledgeable” comments - references to law, bullet manufacturer comments, or just stuff that the poster thinks they know but probably read on a forum somewhere. Pretty soon the thread dissolves into argument and gnashing of teeth.
As always, there is no substitute for real hands-on experience.
Tipped MatchKing is routinely used for deer hunting here, along with other “match” bullets such as Hornady ELD-M and the legendary A-Max. The application tends to be longer range hunting and therein lies the key to their use - lower velocity impacts.
The TMK has a significant cavity behind the tip. Crucially the tip and cavity deliver a far more uniform expansion performance than the non-tipped regular MatchKing. The original MatchKing is a dreadfully inconsistent bullet on game, ranging from complete over-penetration and zero expansion, to hopeless under-penetration and blow-up on the surface. The reason for this is the hollow point on the original MatchKing is very small, and it is a lottery as to whether sufficient pressure is forced into the cavity behind the hollow point to cause the jacket to peel back. It is also notable how variable the position of the top of the lead core is in relation to the hollow point; sometimes the cavity on original MatchKings is huge, other batches it is very small. You can test this with a thin pin. For a long time this was the reason that Berger bullets had a bad reputation.
So, from experience... In .223, .264 and .308, the various weight TMKs have been absolutely lethal on fallow and red deer at the kind of ranges we routinely hunt. Put into the front of the chest cavity targeting the front lungs / aeorta / top of heart (“hilar” zone), the TMK will partially fragment and deliver pole-axing pulverisation of the important bits. In the typical 150-250m range, exit wounds can be quite brutal. In .264 (130gr) and .308 (168gr), there’s more than enough grunt to smash a leg bone and kill the animal DRT.
With a bullet like TMK or ELD-M, on light framed medium deer you are far more likely to get bang flop kills than you ever will with a hard bonded bullet like Nosler Accubond.
The downside to this type of bullet is of course the fragmentary expansion results in a lot of bloodshot meat. Simply put, if carcass quality is of importance then do not use this bullet.
Another thing to remember is that there is actually very little difference between a TMK jacket and a Sierra GameKing jacket. Again you only find these things out performance wise when you actually have the experience of using them both in the field, but for illustrative purposes a section is a handy reference point.
This is a 130gr TMK recovered from a fallow deer - raking shot - at about 200m with a fast 6.5x47:
Nathan Foster did extensive testing of the TMK when it was released. I don’t have the book to hand now, but I’m pretty sure he described the TMK as “simply outstanding” for use on medium game.
As always, there is no substitute for real hands-on experience.
Tipped MatchKing is routinely used for deer hunting here, along with other “match” bullets such as Hornady ELD-M and the legendary A-Max. The application tends to be longer range hunting and therein lies the key to their use - lower velocity impacts.
The TMK has a significant cavity behind the tip. Crucially the tip and cavity deliver a far more uniform expansion performance than the non-tipped regular MatchKing. The original MatchKing is a dreadfully inconsistent bullet on game, ranging from complete over-penetration and zero expansion, to hopeless under-penetration and blow-up on the surface. The reason for this is the hollow point on the original MatchKing is very small, and it is a lottery as to whether sufficient pressure is forced into the cavity behind the hollow point to cause the jacket to peel back. It is also notable how variable the position of the top of the lead core is in relation to the hollow point; sometimes the cavity on original MatchKings is huge, other batches it is very small. You can test this with a thin pin. For a long time this was the reason that Berger bullets had a bad reputation.
So, from experience... In .223, .264 and .308, the various weight TMKs have been absolutely lethal on fallow and red deer at the kind of ranges we routinely hunt. Put into the front of the chest cavity targeting the front lungs / aeorta / top of heart (“hilar” zone), the TMK will partially fragment and deliver pole-axing pulverisation of the important bits. In the typical 150-250m range, exit wounds can be quite brutal. In .264 (130gr) and .308 (168gr), there’s more than enough grunt to smash a leg bone and kill the animal DRT.
With a bullet like TMK or ELD-M, on light framed medium deer you are far more likely to get bang flop kills than you ever will with a hard bonded bullet like Nosler Accubond.
The downside to this type of bullet is of course the fragmentary expansion results in a lot of bloodshot meat. Simply put, if carcass quality is of importance then do not use this bullet.
Another thing to remember is that there is actually very little difference between a TMK jacket and a Sierra GameKing jacket. Again you only find these things out performance wise when you actually have the experience of using them both in the field, but for illustrative purposes a section is a handy reference point.
This is a 130gr TMK recovered from a fallow deer - raking shot - at about 200m with a fast 6.5x47:
Nathan Foster did extensive testing of the TMK when it was released. I don’t have the book to hand now, but I’m pretty sure he described the TMK as “simply outstanding” for use on medium game.
8x57
Distinguished Member
Again all good stuff dodgy, but the question again is not so much about do they expand or to what degree they expand, but legality in some countries in the U.K. given the statements from Sierra themselves and H.O. guidance on the matter.
Again its the intricacies and ridiculous complexities between the different requirements of the deer acts of the various four nations that raise such questions. It's so much easier in some countries elsewhere in the world.
To be totally honest I think it extremely unlikely that a situation will ever arise where the various views will be tested in court. However who knows given the apparent willingness of the police and the H.O. to engage in continuous protracted attacks on shooting from each and every direction possible.
Again its the intricacies and ridiculous complexities between the different requirements of the deer acts of the various four nations that raise such questions. It's so much easier in some countries elsewhere in the world.
To be totally honest I think it extremely unlikely that a situation will ever arise where the various views will be tested in court. However who knows given the apparent willingness of the police and the H.O. to engage in continuous protracted attacks on shooting from each and every direction possible.
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